When I tossed out my requests for people of backgrounds I don't belong to to weigh in on intersectional issues, I explicitly requested that asexual people of color look at my brief section on the topic, and I had 15 PoC volunteers, 11 of whom responded with commentary. They gave me some great thoughts on the section--as expected, my perspective as a white person led me to mostly view this issue from outside, discussing how people of color sometimes feel unwelcome in such a "white" movement and aren't represented in most of the media about asexuality, but encouragement from the PoC readers helped me also spotlight the experience from inside. I don't believe it's particularly comprehensive--it can't be, in a book that's not just about that--but with their help, I was able to discuss how different types of PoC cultures are sexualized or desexualized by people outside their groups AND inside their groups. Also, of my 20 featured asexual bloggers, two contributed quotes on being an ace PoC.
And yes to your question of whether I address pride/joining LGBT. It was I must say the section I was most afraid to write. We all know how common it is for some LGBT folks to feel we're invading their space, co-opting their experience, or threatening them/mocking them by wanting to be included or be allies, and I really wanted to discuss it thoroughly from "for" angles, "against" angles, and "as-neutral-as-possible" angles. So I spent about 20 pages on this, and I did cover why some queer people don't want heteroromantic and possibly aromantic people in their space. I ultimately spotlight the importance of people over politics and encourage everyone to respect individual and group decisions about ace inclusion. I did have several test reader volunteers who were non-asexual queer people and all of them said it was acceptable and non-offensive, but I don't think there's anything I can really do about that section being pretty controversial. I hope it doesn't piss anyone off too much.
If you like, you can see some rambles about the types of feedback I got and how they affected the book here.
Well, it's not really just for book news about the asexuality book, but I don't have any other book news right now, so that's all it's about so far. It doesn't really have a title, but a graphic with my name on it is at the top.
Hmm, I have a section that addresses the misconception that asexual people are asexual because they're ugly, and in that section I mention that a) non-asexual people who are not normatively attractive often still find partners; b) asexual people who are below-average in attractiveness shouldn't be assumed to be identifying as asexual due to lack of willing partners; and c) that asexual people are just as likely as others to want to be physically attractive, dress nicely/groom themselves, and suffer from eating disorders or image issues. Does that cover what you were asking, or is this a slightly different issue?
No, that covers it in a general sort of way. I just find that in general fat people are desexualized/assumed asexual, so I thought it might be an interesting angle to cover.
Oh, well that's true, and I didn't highlight that specifically. It's an important point, and I think I'll find a way to include it. I say stuff along those lines when I discuss autistic populations being desexualized and people with disabilities getting desexualized so this is probably something I should spotlight too. Thanks!
When I tossed out my requests for people of backgrounds I don't belong to to weigh in on intersectional issues, I explicitly requested that asexual people of color look at my brief section on the topic, and I had 15 PoC volunteers, 11 of whom responded with commentary. They gave me some great thoughts on the section--as expected, my perspective as a white person led me to mostly view this issue from outside, discussing how people of color sometimes feel unwelcome in such a "white" movement and aren't represented in most of the media about asexuality, but encouragement from the PoC readers helped me also spotlight the experience from inside. I don't believe it's particularly comprehensive--it can't be, in a book that's not just about that--but with their help, I was able to discuss how different types of PoC cultures are sexualized or desexualized by people outside their groups AND inside their groups. Also, of my 20 featured asexual bloggers, two contributed quotes on being an ace PoC.
And yes to your question of whether I address pride/joining LGBT. It was I must say the section I was most afraid to write. We all know how common it is for some LGBT folks to feel we're invading their space, co-opting their experience, or threatening them/mocking them by wanting to be included or be allies, and I really wanted to discuss it thoroughly from "for" angles, "against" angles, and "as-neutral-as-possible" angles. So I spent about 20 pages on this, and I did cover why some queer people don't want heteroromantic and possibly aromantic people in their space. I ultimately spotlight the importance of people over politics and encourage everyone to respect individual and group decisions about ace inclusion. I did have several test reader volunteers who were non-asexual queer people and all of them said it was acceptable and non-offensive, but I don't think there's anything I can really do about that section being pretty controversial. I hope it doesn't piss anyone off too much.
If you like, you can see some rambles about the types of feedback I got and how they affected the book here.
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